50th Anniversary of the First Ascent of The Nose

YCA is proud and honored to announce the *50th Anniversary* of the First Ascent of *the Nose*. In great appreciation and respect for the first ascent team and this world class route there will be a celebration in Yosemite Valley the weekend of *November 7th-9th*. Many of the people involved with the route, including not only the final ascent team but also those that were there throughout the effort, will be present for a weekend of slideshows, interviews, and stories.

The events are as follow: *Saturday, November 8th* 1pm - 4pm
East Auditorium
An informal gathering with food and drink.

*Saturday, November 8th*
*7:30pm - until
East Auditorium
Slideshow

*Sunday, November 9th*
*12pm - 2pm* *Ahwahnee Hotel*
Open to public meet and greet, media event.

If you are here for this event don’t forget to check out our exhibit in the Yosemite Museum (open everyday 10:00 – 4:00). Granite Frontiers: A Century of Yosemite Climbing will be up through November 9th. The exhibit has been the most popular exhibit shown in Yosemite and it will travel to other venues next year.

During all this we are receiving more donated artifacts and trying to keep up on the cataloging. It is a lot of work and we appreciate your donations. Without them it would not be possible. If you haven’t made a contribution lately, please consider a donation. We are a tax-exempt organization.

Conquest of El Capitan Climbing enthusiasts will gather to remember the moments that led up to taming of a landmark.

Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore, left to right, wave their handkerchiefs in elation in 1958 after scaling what until then had been the unclimbed face of El Capitan. The picture was taken by Fresno Bee staff photographer Loyal Savaria within a few minutes after they walked up to the summit. About three hours before the climbers edged up over the rim of the sheer face, they ate breakfast before going on up to the top.

It appears the turnout will be very large. People are coming in from all over the country including many of Yosemite climbing's celebrities.
We will be offering a very nice brochure, a cancellation stamp and a T-shirt to celebrate the event. These three things will be offered as a package for a donation of $50 during the event. If you can't make the event and would like a package, you can have the same offer plus the cost of postage by contacting us by this weekend. Don't forget to include your T-shirt size.
Thanks,
Ken

l SUPPOSE this article could be titled “The Conquest of El Capitan.” However, as I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was conqueror and who was conquered: I do recall that El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was.

The above mentioned last bolt marked the conclusion of a venture that began in July, 1957. Mark Powell, Bill “Dolt” Feuerer and I met in Yosemite Valley intending to make an attempt on the North Face of Half Dome. We discovered that an excellent team of climbers from southern California was already at work on it and had the situation well in hand. In our disappointment, we became a bit rash and decided to “have a go” at El Cap.

I’m sure no climber ever considered El Cap impossible-the term “impossible climb” having long since become obsolete. The fact that, previously, there had been no serious attempts to scale the sheer 2900-foot face was simply due to the common belief among rock climbers that techniques were not sufficiently advanced to cope with such a problem.

Yosemite Valley. It is the Fourth of July weekend in 1957. The heat is oppressive, and the campgrounds are overflowing. The roads are crowded with cars that make their way from viewpoint to store and back to viewpoint. Tourists idly drink Coke and tap time to the radio as they cruise up and down. They are in Yosemite for a good time. The scenery may be a bonus, but many of them would just as soon be at Las Vegas. They look upon Yosemite as an outdoor amusement park. There is a sense of bored pleasure seeking in the air.

This sense of ennui contrasts with the urgency of three grimy young men. They, too, seem oblivious to the scenery, but they are not bored. Harding, Feuerer, and Powell have just been aced out of Half Dome and are earnestly discussing their next move. A climbing revolution is about to take place in Yosemite, a revolution that in less than ten years will put American climbers at the forefront of the sport and influence mountaineering all over the world.

After grumbling around the valley in a "fit of egotistical pique," Harding decided to cap the Half Dome climb by a harder one. He looked across at the 3,000-foot south buttress of El Capitan and emphatically stated, "I'm gonna climb that god-damn line."

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers who blanched at a $700 billion financial rescue package have found time to honor the brave men who climbed Yosemite National Park's El Capitan peak a half-century ago.
Kicking off a round of commemorations, the House this week approved a resolution saluting three climbers who were the first to scale North America's tallest free-standing granite monolith. The resolution sets the stage for a 50th anniversary ceremony to be held in Yosemite next month.
"It's a landmark," Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, said Wednesday of the climb. "It was a really big deal."

The House resolution honors Wayne Merry, Fresno resident George Whitmore and Warren J. Harding, who took 47 days in 1957 and 1958 to climb El Capitan's so-called "Nose Route." Theirs was a full-blown siege, complete with sizable support crew, fixed ropes and established camps along the vertical way.
Today, climbers can race up the same route in two or three days. Some daredevils have done it in one; in July, two climbers did the Nose Route in two hours and 43 minutes.
The House resolution, too, moved speedily through what can be an obstacle-ridden path. Radanovich's office prepared the resolution at the behest of the National Park Service. The park service is now getting ready for its own commemoration of the event, scheduled for Nov. 8.